The invention relates generally to the field of head or head and body support pads or pillows, and more particularly to such devices which provide a recess area for the face in the prone position. Even more particularly, the invention relates to such devices which further include air access means for improved air circulation and ease of breathing.
There are numerous circumstances where a person is either required or desires to lie face down in a prone position, such as for example during medical procedures on the back, during physical therapy or massage sessions, while sunbathing or while sleeping. Typical pads, pillows, supports and mattresses provide a generally planar upper support surface, meaning that the user must either arch his or her neck to raise the face from the support or turn his or her head to one side or the other to breathe. This arching or twisting of the head exerts undesirable forces on the spine, creating a situation of reduced comfort and possible harm to persons who sleep in the face down position. Likewise, in certain medical or therapy procedures it may be required to maintain the head in the face down position for extended periods of time.
Improved pads, pillows or mattresses have been developed to address this problem. The most common solution is to provide a recess or cut-out portion at or near the edge of the pad. The recess is usually sized such that the user's head is laterally supported with the face extending into the open void created by the recess. While the use of a recess or cut-out alone obviates the need to either arch or turn the face to breathe, it has been found that in many circumstances the free flow of air is overly restricted, making it difficult for the user to breathe after a period of time, since relatively little fresh air exchange can occur. This is especially true where the recess does not extend completely to the end of the support pad.
To address this particular problem, pads or pillows have been designed which incorporate additional air flow pathways for the main face recess. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,752,064 to Voss shows a head support having a generally T-shaped recess in the middle. Relatively thin lateral channels or troughs are cut into the surface and extend from the area of the recess adjacent the mouth and nose to the edges of the support pillow. Voss indicates that the channels may serve as airways, but the channels are thin and shallow in cross-section and primarily serve as passageway for the insertion of tubes or wires. U.S. Pat. No. Des. 337,914 to McDonald shows a pillow of similar construction which improves on the Voss design by providing more channels than Voss and by sizing the channels somewhat larger. McDonald likewise positions the channels on the outer surfaces of the pillow. The main problem with the constructions of Voss and McDonald is that the channels are easily restricted or blocked by towels, blankets, sheets or the like. In addition, because the support pad or pillow is by nature resilient and compressible, the weight of the user's head will cause deformation of the pillow out of the original passive configuration, resulting in restriction or closure of the ends or the bodies of the channels. Guarino, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,426,798, shows a support mattress where the recess for the face extends completely to the edge of the mattress. This design reduces the amount of head support, since the forehead area is no longer supported by any structure, but it does improve air flow to the user. However, because the user's nose and mouth are positioned adjacent the closed end of the recess, free air flow is still limited as there is only one ingress and egress point for air exchange, and that point is at a point beyond the top of the user's head.
It is an object of this invention to provide a head support pad which incorporates a recess for placement of the user's face when in the prone position, where the air flow into the recess is improved by the provision of lateral conduits tunnels within the body of the support pad, the tunnels extending to opposing side walls of the support pad. It is a further object to provide such a device where the tunnels are formed by rigid tubular members whereby the weight of the user's head will not alter the diameter of the tunnels. It is a further object to provide such a device where filter means are mounted on the external openings of the tunnels to remove dust or other particulates from the air drawn into the recess. It is a further object to provide such a device with an attached flap on the underside of the recess, whereby the flap can be positioned beneath the recess to provide a barrier layer between the user and the surface beneath the support pad. These and other objects are attained by the provision of a device as set forth below.